A Perfect Inaugural Game

By: Jack Barksdale ’19

At long last, the first home football game came around a few Fridays ago, and the long wait left the whole school buzzing with excitement. It would be, after all, the first game played in the pristine Jangro Stadium, which almost seemed to shimmer, it was so new. The state-of-the-art facility made the fan experience even more enjoyable, and donors were able to sit out on the stadium’s deck and socialize with a football game just beneath them.

There was much speculation as to why the student section was moved, though it was likely due to the level of rowdiness the students were expected to bring. Whatever was expected however paled in comparison to what the student section actually brought out. Noise-makers were distributed along with a healthy dose of face paint and hair dye, and the Talon Tribe was out in all its glory. Spirit Club President Samuel King ‘19 called the game a “smashing success”. Playing a football game might be tough, but the endurance displayed by certain Bleacher Creatures deserves recognition. By Samuel’s account, he and the rest of the front row sat down only five times during the three hour game. The amount of school spirit displayed was unmatched amongst Jacksonville high schools, and Student Government group deserves abundant praise for that.

The game itself was a sloppy one, after the team had gone 3 weeks without a game- a combined 29 penalty flags were thrown on both teams. The Eagles went into halftime up only a touchdown, but they shut out the Eagle’s View Warriors in the second half and finished out the game on a 16-0 run to win 43-18. Senior captain Cameron Rawls ‘18 tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns in a game that was dominated by offenses.

Image courtesy of ESJ’s Flickr account.